This is a certificate issued on 29 December 1930 by William Alfred Noel Davis, the Registrar of the Supreme Court of the Straits Settlements, Settlement of Singapore, certifying that Courtenay Dickinson had taken out annual certificates, making him eligible to practice law in the Straits Settlements from 1910 to date with the exception of the year 1918. It is part of a collection of legal documents from the 19th and early 20th centuries which provides a glimpse into the work of the notable personalities who left their mark on Singapore’s legal history, and the economic and other transactions undertaken by ordinary immigrants in 19th century Singapore that tell stories of misfortune and indebtedness which would otherwise have disappeared from history.
